LOCALS are in favour of festoon lighting for the King George V Park (KGV), following the results of a survey created by Melksham News.
The KGV Park Lighting Survey coincided with a trial of festoon lights, a string of party-style lights, in the park that lighting expert Paul Weymouth of Light Fantastic, had installed in August.
This trial followed the town council’s discussions about what areas of the park should be lit and what type of lights should be installed, as a response to residents’ and councillors’ safety concerns about using the park when it is dark.
Out of the respondents, 80% said they want festoon lights, 84% want all the pathways lit and around 80% would use the park in the evening to transit through if it was lit.
“Festoon seems cheaper, easily replaceable, yet a prettier option,” says one of the residents who took part in the poll.
The town council’s discussions about installing lights in the park has been ongoing for years. In October 2020 it was reported in Melksham News that town councillors proposed a lighting survey be carried out, saying that local people felt unsafe in the park when it was dark. The council agreed then to explore options for lighting the park.
In June this year at an asset management and amenities meeting, town councillors voted to spend £68,000 on purchasing and installing swan neck column lights. However, Paul Weymouth urged the council not to spend this amount of money on the project and instead proposed festoon lighting as a cheaper, more environmentally friendly and easier to install option than traditional lighting columns.
Despite the advice, councillors proceeded to vote on the £68,000 spend, until it was revealed in August that the cost of the project had soared to £71,000. Due to the increase in cost, councillors then voted to scrap the plans and instead invite Paul Weymouth and other local lighting experts to give presentations on their ideas to light the KGV. The meeting is yet to be held.